The Pain of the Fox
by FroggersGirl1992
Summary: The villagers commit the worst crime against Naruto, leaving his sanity in shreads. Can the members of team seven save him from himself? -Team Seven Centric- NOTE THIS STORY IS BEING DESTROYED AND REDONE
1. Prolouge

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…If I did I would not be writing fan fiction would I? No I don't think so.

Warning: This fic will contain dark themes and sometimes will have descriptions that will make you squirm.

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He didn't understand what the big deal was, the world wanted him gone and he had tried to fulfill that wish. Now he found himself staring at the blank white walls of the hospital, his wrists restrained to the bed with leather straps. The straps, he knew, were needed because without them he was liable to find the sharpest thing he could get his hands on and finish the job. Maybe without him the world would get over the circumstances of his father's death and maybe he could forget about the feel of _them_ against his tan skin. Tsunade entered the room and injected a clear solution into the IV, "Naruto, this will help you to relax. Try to not fight it."

He gave no inclination that he had heard the women speak, continuing to stare at the wall as his eyes slowly slipped shut once again. A slow smile spread on his face in his sleep, reaching a place where he felt safe.

* * *

Sakura and Sasuke stood in the waiting room heads bowed low, neither speaking. Kakashi stood next to the window staring out across the village, hands clenched into firsts at his side. Tsunade walked out to the trio, "I sedated him for now. Do you have any idea what happed?"

Kakashi heard her speak, but could not bring himself to say it front of his other students. Sasuke sensed his sensei's turmoil and took Sakura by the wrist and led her out of the hospital waiting room. They stood side to side against the wall, silent tears soaking the floor.

Kakashi swallowed hard fighting the lump in his throat in an effort to say the words without breaking down again, "The villagers caught him in the trees while he was sleeping. When he didn't show up for training, we went to look for him. He was not at home or any of his other haunts, I summoned Pakkun to lead us to him, thinking he had gone somewhere else. Pakkun picked up the scent and brought us into the trees, he told me the blood was bothering his nose."

Tsunade waited while the jounin collected himself again, "Kakashi this is not your fault."

The man gave a bitter laugh, "If I had taken heed of what the village was whispering, my student would not be clinging to his sanity right now. They tortured him, and destroyed his will in the worst way possible. How is that not my fault! Sakura and Sasuke did not need to see their teammate in that condition!"

Tsunade sighed, placing a hand on his shoulder, "You didn't know. Nobody did, the most we can do is help Naruto to recover."

Kakashi felt his nails bite into his skin,'And I will hunt down the bastards who did that to my student and make them pay.'

The Godaime did something completely out of her character, she pulled the jounin in and hugged the man. It was that show of compassion that set Kakashi off; he could no longer control the ocean of tears.

* * *

Sakura clung to Sasuke's shoulder her body shaking with the force of her sobs, "H-H-How cou-ou-ould th-they do tha-that?"

Sasuke turned his tearful eyes onto her, "I don't know Sakura. I don't know why they would either, but I do know we can be there for him."

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A/N: This idea came to me while listening to snow patrol oddly enough. The next chapter should be longer once I know where this story is going.


	2. Chapter One

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

**Thank you to my reviewers!**

**Warnings: This story will contain dark themes.**

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Two days had past since Naruto was admitted into the hospital. In that time his wounds had healed completely with the help of Kyuubi. Also in that two days the other members of team seven had come to an agreement about the blonde member of their team. They could not leave him alone anytime soon, his nightmares had proven that much. It was Sasuke who suggested the blonde boy live with Iruka, however, that idea was shot down. The Chuunin would be teaching during the day leaving Naruto alone to his own devices. Not to mention the man didn't know about what had happened to Naruto, the blonde had insisted, once he learned of Sasuke's idea, that Iruka didn't learn anything until he decided to spill the beans himself.

Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura eventually came to a decision, Naruto was going to be gaining a few roommates until they were satisfied that the blonde boy was no longer a danger to himself. That decision is what led to Naruto staring at Sasuke and Sakura outside his apartment.

* * *

"Why are you here?" Naruto asked, his voice devoid of its usual cheerfulness.

" We figured you could use some company." Sasuke muttered shoving his way into the apartment.

The apartment was rather plain with a Kitchen to the left of the entrance, a simply decorated living room to the right, off the living room was hall leading to the bedroom and bathroom. The bookcase near the couch was covered with books on tactics and fantasy novels, the end table looked like it would fall apart under the weight of the monstrous plant that was growing from a shallow white ceramic bowl. To Sasuke the apartment looked too clean to belong to Naruto.

Naruto did not say anything as the raven haired teen explored his apartment, he waited for Sakura to give her answer. When he did not receive one after a moment he asked again, "Sakura why are you here?"

Sakura strode into her teammates apartment and headed for the plant, "Is this the infamous Mr. Ukki?"

Naruto sighed knowing he was not going to get a straight answer, "Yeah, I took him back from Kakashi-sensei. He was killing him! What kind of a man mixes flavored water up with a bottle of tap water?"

Sakura chuckled and set her bag on the floor near the couch. She gently stroked one of the plants larger leaves, "You have a way with plants Naruto."

He gave a small grin, feeling some of the tension fade away, "Yeah I guess I am. Why did you bring that overnight bag?"

Sasuke returned from exploring in time to hear the question, "Dobe, we just thought you could use some company."

"I guess I could."

With that as permission Sakura and Sasuke quickly took a hold of Naruto and dragged him to the table. "Come on lets play a game!"

Sasuke surprised even himself by diving head first into the game of Go Fish. After losing to Sakura for the fifth time he gave an indignant squawk, "Sakura! Your cheating!"

Both Naruto and Sakura turned to look at him before returning to the game. The Uchiha grumbled and watched both his teammates for signs of foul play. He found none. 'Go Fish was created by an evil man for sure.'

The game was interupted by a knock at the door.

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Kyuubi stirred in his cage, blood red chakra swirling angrily around the fox. '**Whomever hurts my kit will pay ku ku ku.' **


	3. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the other characters... T.T

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The evening past in a tense silence as all three teenagers where lost in their own thoughts. Sasuke couldn't help but to notice the new side to Naruto after the attack. He was no longer the same bouncy blonde he had been when they first met; he was silent and more jerky in his movements. Sakura was watching Naruto seeing him in a new light to and it scared her. To her, seeing the boy as anything other than annoying and hyper was something she was still unprepared to face, but she new they had to be there for Naruto…it was their job to get him to open up about what had happened.

_FlashBack_

Tsunade stood behind her desk staring out at the village. Sakura and Sasuke stared down at the ground both unsure why she had called them into her office. "Godaime-same, why are we here?" Sasuke said softly.

"I have called you here because I have reason to believe Naruto is a risk to himself and others currently. I want you two, as his teammates, to keep an eye on him. Sakura I have already dealt with your parents and they are aware where you will be staying and with whom."

"Godaime-sama, why did the villagers attack him? What exactly did they do?" the pink haired girl said worriedly.

"He is the container of the nine tailed demon fox."

"Godaime-sama!"

"The people of the village hate him because of what he carries and they are too blind to realize he is not the Kyuubi. I trust you both can see the truth."

_EndFlashBack_

Sakura walked over to him and pulled the blonde into a gentle hug causing him to flinch at the contact. The pink haired girl let him go feeling guilty for causing him to flinch. 'What happened to you?'

Naruto gave her a sad luck and turned his tired gaze to the window. Both Sasuke and Sakura felt torn asunder at the dead look in his eyes. Sasuke stood from the table and moved to the couch needing to escape from Naruto's dead eyes. Sakura remained watching Naruto as silent tears began to slip from his brilliant blue eyes.

Both Sakura and Sasuke knew they had a long way to go before Naruto would open up to them about what had happened.

* * *

Two weeks had passed since team seven had begun living together in Naruto's apartment and the tension was still just as thick. After several nights of being awoken by the tortured screams of their teammate, Sasuke and Sakura resolved to take turns watching over him. The familiar presence in the room at night seemed to keep the nightmares at bay and it was on one such night more details began to make themselves known.

Sasuke sat hunched over in a wicker chair watching the sleeping figure. He was barely hanging onto consciousness when Naruto began to thrash crying out, "No! Don't touch me! It hurts…stop…please stop! I am sorry! It hurts!"

Sasuke moved closer to Naurto reaching out to shake him awake only to find a pair of blood red eyes gazing at him. Sasuke gasped a name passing breathlessly from his lips, "Kyuubi!"

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A/N: Sorry it took so long to update, but things have been a little insane lately. This chapter was written hastily so I apoligize for the mistakes in it and will go back and fix them once I have the time. The next chapter will be longer and hopefully uploaded sooner. That is all.


	4. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me. I am a college student… If I was owner I would not be working my tail off to pay my bills.

**Warnings: mentions of rape, nothing graphic and mentions of suicide**

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"Very good, you know who I am…Listen whelp, Blondie here is precious to me; I have grown fond of him. I don't want those people near him again." Kyuubi rumbled.

Sasuke chuckled and asked how he could trust the foxes word. Kyuubi gave him a feral grin, "When you have been trapped inside an annoying idiot who constantly shows up demanding help or wanting advice or to talk about his worries as he grew up and came to understand me better, you grow fond of that person. I watched what they did to him and I took over so he would not feel the worse thing, but I could not stop him from watching."

Sasuke flinched underneath the intense red gaze, "What did they do to him?"

The demon gave a harsh laugh before speaking in a deadly tone, "They dragged him out of bed in the middle of the night and used some kind of jutsu to suppress both our chakra. They pinned him and beat him; they broke his arm and leg. They stripped his body and used kunai and shuriken, dragging them across his chest, back, legs, and face. They injected a deadly poison into his veins and then they tied him up; he begged for them to stop, kept asking them why… they laughed. I saw the feral looks and forced myself into control…finally they destroyed his innocence. All six of them took a turn. Then they took a kunai that had been heated by a jutsu to his hips and thighs. I retreated and he passed out."

"Who is "they"? Have there been other attacks?", the Uchiha growled his sharingan active.

"Oh, there have been other attacks; they never got the chance for a repeat performance! "They" is the villagers! The village should burn and the streets should run red!" the demon raged within Naruto, tendrils of chakra pulsed erratically all around, bathing the room in a soft red glow.

Sasuke shivered in the face of the killing intent and heard the beat of foot steps nearing the door. Sakura burst into the room kunai drawn as Kyuubi retreated back into the depths of Naruto's mind. "What the hell happened?"

"I know what happened." Sasuke mumbled, his eyes returning to normal.

"What?"

"They raped him and beat him. As for who did it, the villagers are the ones at fault."

Sakura stepped forward and looked down at Naruto disbelief in her eyes, "The village is not that cruel. Tsunade would never let them get to that. She would not let the village do that to anyone!"

"Take my watch." Sasuke grumbled, leaving the room.

* * *

Sakura nodded off an hour into her watch, she woke to find Naruto's bed empty. On his pillow was a small piece of paper, simply reading 'I'm sorry'. The girl's eyes widened and she bolted from the room franticly searching for his chakra signature. Unable to find it, she shouted for Sasuke. He appeared quickly and the pair took off out the opened window in the kitchen. Leaping across the roof tops, Sasuke caught the blonde's signature near the monument.

They picked up the pace, catching the eye of a silver haired jounin standing at the memorial stone. He shook his head and followed them.

Naruto sat atop the monument a Kunai held loosely in his shaking hand. Ribbons of crimson stained the rock next to him and the sleeves of his orange jacket. "Maybe without me the village can be happy." he mumbled looking up at the sky.

He brought the kunai up to his chest with shaking hands. "I am sorry for not being strong enough and this doesn't matter…nobody would really miss me… the demon."

"Your wrong!"

Naruto turned to face the speaker to see Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi. He smiled softly and made to plunge the kunai into his own chest to only have his wrists caught in the rough hands of his sensei. "Naruto, your precious to your teammates and myself. Iruka views you as family! Don't ever make the mistake of thinking differently!"

The blonde sighed and let the weapon fall from his hands and collapsed into his sensei's chest sobbing uncontrollably. Kakashi felt something wet seeping through his gloves and looked at his students wrists, gasping softly. He immediately reached into his weapon pouch and pulled out a role of bandages and quickly bound his wrists. "Naruto, we need to get your wrists looked at."

Naruto shook his head, "They will be fine! Kyuu will heal them once he wakes up! Leave me alone."

"What did you do to him?"

"I knocked him out. Now can I please go back to my apartment? I feel tired."

Kakashi gave his other two students a pointed look and nodded letting the pair take Naruto back.

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A/N: Updates will be sporadic with this one for a bit,... I want to manage to get at least one chapter that is over 1,000 words done for it, which may take a little time... the plot bunny bait is not doing its job.


	5. Chapter Four

**Disclaimer: I am not Kishimoto, I am a lowly psychology student. Using that logic one can conclude I do not own the NARUTO series. **

_Quick Question: Should I make the pairing set up a NaruSakuSasu pairing?_

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Sasuke and Sakura watched as Naruto jerked away from their arms heading towards his room. Sakura sighed sitting on the overstuffed couch her eyes watering slightly, "Sasuke-kun, what can we do about Naruto?"

Sasuke rubbed his temples as he examined the bookshelf, listening for hints as to what Naruto was doing. He spoke in a soft voice that was laced with an uncharacteristic caring tone, "Sakura, he doesn't realize that there are people out there who do care about him. As his teammates it is our duty to show him we do care about his well being."

"How can we show him? I don't think he will listen; he didn't even acknowledge that Iruka-sensei cares about him."

"Sakura I don't know how we can show him. He is a part of Team Seven and needs our help. We need to figure out a way."

Sakura nodded and ran a hand through her pink hair, "Sasuke-kun, we should talk to him and find out why he thinks we don't care about him."

Sasuke gave a harsh chuckle, "It is obvious Sakura. You always pay too much attention to me; you talk down to him constantly and remind him that most people see him as nothing more than a waste of space."

Sakura flinched and then shot back vehemently, "Like you were any better to him?"

The Uchiha heir growled and stalked forward, "I may of done some horrible things, but I never once condemned him based on what I saw others doing! I did it because I could not stand how perfect he seemed to be! Naruto can become friends with anyone, in the face of danger he does not give up and he always pulls through. He is stronger than me! I was jealous of him!"

As he concluded his outburst Sasuke blinked realizing his face was only five inches away from the female member of the teams; he backed up a few steps and sighed a hand fisting in the fabric of his shorts. "There! I admit it; I was jealous of him. I was jealous of Naruto! Naruto of all people got under my skin and would not leave me alone."

Sakura gasped and pointed with a shaky finger towards the opening that lead into the hallway, "N-n-n-ar-aru-to?"

Noting the scared tone in her voice Sasuke turned to look at what was troubling his teammate. The sight that met his onyx eyes threw him for a loop as well. Naruto was clutching another kunai in his hand and blood was running from a shallow cut along the side of his head, his eyes were dull and completely lacked the normal luster they once had. Sasuke swallowed before stepping forward cautiously, "What happened Naruto?"

The blonde dropped the kunai and grabbed a hold of his blonde locks, "I could make them stop."

"What wouldn't stop?"

"The memories, I kept feeling and seeing what happened!"

Sasuke reached out slowly and removed the boy's weapons pouch before laying a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Come sit down with me and Sakura. We are going to bandage your head and then we are going to talk."

Naruto nodded weakly and sat down next to Sakura who had already gotten out a roll of bandages. Sasuke joined sat on the other side of Naruto, he held his teammates head still as the girl gently bound it, after wiping the required amount of antiseptic over the wound. "Naruto…you know we… care about you…right?"

Naruto looked at his female teammate for a moment before speaking in tone that sounded dead to everyone's ears, "You don't have to lie. You care about me because I am your teammate, but you don't really care about me."

"You BAKA! If we did not care about you, would we really be here right now? Would we be protecting you from yourself still?" Sasuke growled, a hand gripping Naruto's shoulder hard.

Naruto gave a small smile, "Don't lie. That only hurts more."

This time Sakura was the one to get outraged, "Uzumaki Naruto! We care about you! Get that through your thick skull; you have grown on us over the years. Sasuke and I care about you damn it!"

Naruto finally broke down and left the room announcing he was going to go take a nap. Sakura stared at his retreating back whispering, "Do you think we got through to him?"

"I hope so."

"He really is like a parasite in a way; once you catch him…he is impossible to get rid of. I always tried to make myself hate him, but I couldn't. I couldn't do it Sasuke."

The stoic teen grinned softly to himself, "I know what you mean Sakura. I am going to go check on him."

Sasuke padded into the bedroom taking in the figure who was hugging a frog pillow tight to his chest. 'Cute.'

The boy jerked back slightly, "I did not just say that about him!"

* * *

Back in the other room Sakura was also having problems of her own; her thoughts were also straying into unwanted places. 'Naruto has come a long way. He has been through so much; maybe I should not be so hard on him, maybe I should give him a chance. I don't stand a chance with Sasuke…and he…he was always a sweet boy…NO! What am I thinking? My parents would kill me.'

The girl shook her head and moved over to the fridge and reached inside to get a bottle of orange juice. She curled up again on the couch sipping on the drink. "I hope everything turns out alright."

Her attention was drawn to Sasuke again as he walked into the room. The boy looked a little disgusted and shaken at the same time. "What happened to you Sasuke? Is he alright?"

"Naruto is fine; I just scared myself a little is all."

"I know the feeling."

The Uchiha gave a small snort, 'Oh I don't think anything you had on your mind can compare to that.'

Sakura patted the seat next to her inviting Sasuke to join her before asking, "How long do you think we are going to be with him here?"

"Why does it matter Sakura?"

"Sasuke-kun we only brought a few days worth of clothes and this is a one bedroom apartment. I would like to spend the night in a bed instead of on the floor or couch."

"Sakura, we can bring him with us when we go to get more clothing and I was going to talk to Tsunade-sama tomorrow about getting a two bedroom apartment."

Sakura flashed a small smile at her friend, "That sounds like a good idea."

* * *

It was later in the evening when Naruto finally stirred and appeared in the living room again. He wandered into the kitchen and began preparing a simple dinner out of instant ramen and a glass of milk. The boy sat down at the table and began to eat, slowly and methodically; his eyes took in the site on the couch and a true smile formed for a second. Sakura and Sasuke were asleep on the couch Sakura's head on Sasuke's shoulder and his on her head. "It seems the team is changing."

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A/N: So I was bitten by a plot bunny afterall ^.^. Now I hope it continues to bite. This chapter is 1,200 words and this length will be improoved on little by little.


	6. Chapter Five

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: Just a small update to set up for a few ideas I have written down. The hamster is running, but the wheel was refusing to turn for a while with this story.

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Naruto crept towards the window, 'I need to get away for a while. I need to think.'

He slowly pushed the window open and gave a small yell of surprise at the masked face he saw. The boy got up and back-pedaled in fear as the figure stepped through the window and into the room. "Who are you?"

The masked figure reached a hand up and removed cat mask revealing a very familiar figure. "Naruto calm down."

"Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka strode forward and pulled the blonde boy into a tight hug. Naruto couldn't help it and began sobbing into the man's uniform, "Sensei, why did this happen to me?"

Iruka was at a loss for words. He put a tanned hand on the blonde hair and ruffled it as he thought carefully about what he should say. "Sometimes things just happen. It may not seem like it right now, but sometimes there is no reason, sometimes good people end up hurt."

Naruto looked up into the tan face and mumbled, "I am not a good person."

"Don't say that! You are a good person. You're the one who saved my life. You're the one who keeps saving the people who wish they could destroy you in this village. Don't you ever say you're not a good person!"

Naruto pulled away from Iruka and stared at the cat mask sitting on the end table for a moment before realizing exactly what he was looking at, an ANBU mask. "Iruka-sensei?"

"Yes?"

"You're in ANBU?"

"Yes."

"Since when?"

"I have been a member of ANBU ever since a mission I was sent on turned out to be S-ranked and I made it out without a scratch."

Naruto again blinked. "You never told me you had been promoted because?"

"I'm glad to see your focusing on something else and I didn't want you to worry about me."

Naruto shook his head in disbelief and offered to make them both tea. Iruka nodded and followed the blonde boy into the kitchen, but paused in front of the couch looking at the two sleeping teens. "Are they staying with you?"

"Yeah, I can't get them to leave. What kind of tea do you want?"

"Whatever you have on hand works."

The boy nodded and set about the task of making the drinks. He set the water to boil and got out two cups opting to use tea bags instead of tea leaves. He didn't have the patience to go through the hassle of making tea properly. 'I want Iruka to stay too. He makes me feel safe.'

Iruka sat at the table his hands folded in front of himself lost in his own train of thoughts, 'If I ever find out which villagers did this to him they will never see the light of day again. He is not the same boy I taught in the academy. His spark is gone. I hope there is a way for him to get that spark back. I can't stand seeing Naruto like this.'

Naruto put the cup in front of his former teacher and took a seat across from him. They drank the tea in a comfortable silence. Iruka put both cups in the sink and began washing them, "Naruto you should get some sleep. I can let myself out."

The boy nodded reluctantly and headed for his room.

* * *

Sasuke got up off the couch and shuffled into the bedroom to check on his teammate. He saw Naruto was sleeping soundly and then the Uchiha started going about his morning routine. A slightly devious look passed across his face momentarily. 'Maybe starting our rivalry again will get him to come out of his shell again. I need to start off small though.'

With those thoughts in mind, Sasuke filled a bowl with water and headed for the blondes room and proceeded to dump the water on Naruto's head. The sleeping boy jerked awake sputtering, "I'll kill you for that you dick!"

Sasuke laughed and said, "To do that you need to get up, get dressed and stop letting the morons of the village get to you. Until then, you will never be able to win against me. Hell, you wouldn't be able to even beat an academy student right now."

Naruto shook his head and slowly got out of bed, his movements slowed. 'There is the Sasuke I know. I think he is trying to get me to cheer up. It won't work though.'

Sasuke left the room so his teammate could get dressed in peace. He went back to the living area and shook Sakura's shoulder lightly to get her up. The pinkette gave him a bleary eyed look and stood slowly stretching, "Sasuke-kun I have an idea to get Naruto to regain a little of himself."

"What?"

"I think we need to get him out of the village for a while. If he stays here, he may stay depressed, but if he is away from the people and the memories connected to here, Naruto may perk up some."

Sasuke nodded, "I will talk to the Hokage about it."


	7. Chapter Six

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. The only thing i own is a crazy amount of frog plushies and a turtle named Fred.

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The Hokage was sitting behind her desk up to her elbows in paperwork when Sasuke walked into the office. The women looked up giving him a kindly smile, "Sasuke-kun what brings you to my office?"

"Hokage-sama I was wondering if you would grant us a leave of absence so we can take Naruto out of the village for a while. Sakura and I both feel some time away from the glares of the villagers would do him some good.

Tsunade nodded her head slightly and set her pen down, "I understand, do you have an idea of where you would want to go?"

"I want to take him to another ninja country where he can simply be a civilian for a few days, but I know that is out of the question so I am simply hoping to take him to another village within fire country."

The women took a long drink from the sake bottle that was sitting next to the paper work. She thought about the Uchiha's request for a few moments before setting the bottle down. "I won't stop you from taking him to another village within fire country for a few days, but I want Kakashi to accompany you just in case something major happens that you and Sakura cannot handle."

Sasuke nodded and turned on his heel to leave the office, but paused as Tsunade stated, "If anything befalls him I want you to make sure it gets back to me so we can be prepared here in the village just in case."

She saw him nod and told him he was dismissed. Sasuke quickly made his way back to Naruto's apartment. He opened the door and flinched at the site that met his eyes. Sakura and Naruto were sitting on the couch and Sakura had her head in the blonde's lap. Sasuke did not know what was causing these feelings and that scared him. The boy shook his head and cleared his throat. Sakura sat up quickly a slight blush gracing her cheeks, "What did you find out Sasuke-kun?"

"The hokage gave me her permission."

Naruto turned his head to look at him, "What are you talking about?"

"We are leaving the village for a while."

"When?"

"Tomorrow morning so we all should pack today at some point."

Naruto again spoke up, "How about you two go home and pack and I will do the same? I swear on our friendship I will not do anything stupid."

Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other momentarily. "Do you think that is a good idea Sasuke-kun?"

"We should take turns Sakura. You know that. I am sorry Naruto, but I can't put much faith in those words right now. We all know you're still hurting."

The blonde sighed, "I guess."

* * *

Sakura gave each boy a hug before leaving the apartment. She quickly crossed the village and walked into her home. Her mother was waiting, "Sakura-chan I do not want you going back over to that things home!"

"MOM! Naruto-kun is a good person! He has saved my life on many occasions and I want to help him get through this!"

Her mother reached out and struck her across the face, "Don't you dare disobey me young lady! Now get to your room and don't try anything funny."

Sakura held a hand to her red stinging cheek as tears ran down her face. The girl ran up the stairs and slammed her bedroom door, "This is not right!"

She stormed over to her dresser and pulled out several changes of clothes and put them in the travel pack along with a blanket and a small medical kit. She went to her closet and pulled out her sleeping bag attaching it to the pack. Sakura then quickly wrote a short not stating she was sorry for disobeying and that she was not going to abandon her teammate. The pinkette then walked to the window opening it slowly. She then proceeded to jump out onto the neighboring roof and made her way across the village dropping to the ground in front of Naruto's apartment complex.

* * *

Sasuke stood in the doorway as the blonde boy packed his clothes into the travel pack, "Dobe, Do you still like Sakura?"

Naruto blushed cutely, "A little, but not like I used to…I got tired of always being shot down."

Sasuke noded, "This trip is to help you and also to bring the team closer again because you are still shaky about who to trust. I just don't want you doing anything that will jeopardize us getting back to where we were as a team."

Naruto thought to himself for a few moments before voicing his opinion, "I guess that makes sense and I won't hit on her or anything. I am too old for childish things like that."

Sasuke couldn't help to laugh, "Dobe…You're my age and you are still that childish at times!"

"Teme! No I am not!"

"I won't believe that until you prove me wrong Naruto."

"Teme you're the one who is too uptight!"

* * *

Sakura paused outside the door the apartment hearing snatches of the conversation, "It seems Sasuke may have found a way to distract Naruto. I just wish he had not brought me into it."

The girl opened the door and entered the apartment. She set her things down on the floor near the door and told Sasuke to go do his packing as well. Sakura watched Sasuke leave a wistful look in her green eyes. The look did not go unnoticed by Naruto who gave her a look that was tinged with a small amount of loathing.

* * *

A/N: This chapter is kinda a filler. I admit I am running out of ideas already, but my roommate is awesome at giving me horrible plot bunny attacks so this story will not die yet. I am hoping to at the very least get to 20-30k before ending.


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